Updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday ... and maybe other days too.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Are you a Master?

Are you a Master? True some of our readers can answer that question with a "Yes - International" or even "Grandmaster", but I'm guessing for the majority the answer is: "No."

But maybe not for long. The English Chess Federation have just announced the details of their new Master Points System - I believe previously that a similar but different scheme existed which was then stopped - and more or less anyone can qualify for at least one of their five titles:

Chess Maestro: A player must achieve a grade of at least 70 on any ECF official grading list.Team Master: A player must achieve a grade of at least 100 on any ECF official grading list.Club Master: A player must achieve a standard-play A or B grade of at least 130 on an ECF official grading list.County Master: A player must achieve a standard-play A grade of at least 160 on an ECF official grading list.Regional Master: A player must achieve a standard play A grade of at least 180 in two successive seasons on ECF official grading lists.

The details are here, as well as a list of current title holders, where you can spot a few members of our club and some other familiar names from the London chess scene. So are you tempted, Maestro?

14 comments:

It's a good motivational tool in principle, but with so many different title bands even down to a relatively low level of 70 ECF (an average club player is about 110) it doesn't seem to be much more than a scheme to earn a few more pennies for the ECF pot - it costs £5 to have your title officially recognised, but I suppose you do get a certificate.

I'm rated 83 ECF and I don't feel that I deserve any recognition for the poor quality chess that I play.

What a waste of time. Proper titles (FM, IM and GM) are highly prestigious because few of us are good enough to get them.

A grade of 160 would barely get you into a county first team, but it's good enough to allow you to call yourself a County Master? Why not go the whole hog a have a British Master title for grades of >200 and World Master for >220?!

The more likely reason behind this pointless gimmick is that you have to be an ECF member to get your title...

I'm not so cynical. A grade is for a season but a title is for life, and if you exceed your normal standard one season it might be nice to have a title that records that. The boundaries don't strike me as too unreasonable for most of the country -- although it is true in certain particularly-strong pockets like London or Surrey they might be a bit off.

Having said that, the title I like the sound of the most is definitely CHESS MAESTRO. So it's a bit of a shame that it's the lowest wrung on the ladder!